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Molinari tied Felipe Aguilar of Chile and Simon Thornton of Ireland at 9-under 135 at the Golf Club Torino.

A Turin native, Molinari has been the center of attention at the tournament. He won the event in 2006.

''This is a special, special week for me,'' Molinari said. ''I was emotional yesterday on the 10th tee at 8 a.m. with only 50 people watching, so now with all these people on my course, it's a great feeling.''

Molinari's Ryder Cup teammate Nicolas Colsaerts lost his overnight lead when he bogeyed the 16th and 18th. He's one stroke back.

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